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Objectives

(1) Identify factors behind locating the District of Columbia in its current location.

(2) Discuss the earliest peoples in the District and the origin of the name "Anacostia."

(3) Trace patterns of settlement through the late 18th and early 19th Centuries.

Standards

12.DC.1. Students identify and locate on a map the principal topographical features of the original federal district and surrounding area.

12.DC.2. Students describe the early Native American and English settlements that were established during the 17th and 18th centuries.

12.DC.3. Students explain how and when Africans came to the Chesapeake and Potomac Region, why a significant number of them were free, the

roles they played in the development of the agrarian economy (e.g., tobacco), and how slavery developed as an institution in the region.

Resources

Resources provided here for you to use as necessary with your class. For those who need them, handouts are available for most sections. For others, you might want to project sources on a board for class discussion. Do what works best with your students.

Appropriate handouts and worksheets are attached to each section of the lesson plan. You will also need a class set of Melder's City of Magnificent Intentions.

Warm Up

Introduce the following questions either through a written warm-up, or by simply asking them of your class. When students have had a moment to compose their own answers, discuss them as a class. Make sure to hit the points below.

1. What is the role of water in history? / How many times in your 12 years of schooling have you talked about water?

1) Agriculture

2) Transportation

3) Recreation

2. How has water played a role in history?

1) Geographical Separation

2) Means of Connection (through Technology)

3) Essential to Economies (fishing, etc.)

3. How do YOU interact with water?

Answers will vary.

Lesson 1 - Warm Up

New Material

Students will progress from an analysis of an 1863 photo of what is today the National Mall to a look at L'Enfant's orginial plan of the city, and on to read and storyboard brief passages from the tetbook about the growth of the city.

Students should analyze this picture by having a copy projected on the board in front of them, as well as a copy they can write on and manipulate at their desks. Students should be encouraged to identify familiar landmarks.

As analysis continues, note the presence of the canal. Have students discuss what the purposes might be for having a canal through the middle of the city. What might be some risks associated with this?

Further Thoughts: Also present in the photo is the army hospital built during the Civil War. Would it be a good idea to have injuries like this near water? Why or why not?